Liquid household detergents are used increasingly in place of powdered household detergents to wash laundry, either by hand or in washing machines.
This new approach of liquid washing products has given rise to a considerable amount of research to produce formulas attempting to rival the effectiveness of powdered products.
Thus, beginning in 1971, especially in Patent FR 2,140,822, the applicant described liquid bleaching detergents composed of a detergent base and containing a peroxidated compound such as tetrahydrated sodium perborate or hydrogen peroxide and a stabilizing agent, having a pH of 8 to 10.
The object of Patent Application FR 2,522,124 is fluid fabric detergent formulas with bleaching action, that are stable during storage and that contain, in the anhydrous state, hydrogen peroxide and the ingredients detergent baths traditionally comprise, other than persalts and peroxyhydrates. The technique of using hydrogen peroxide in an anhydrous medium does not seem to have emerged as yet on the industrial level. The only formulas currently on the market are made in aqueous media and contain no bleaching agents.
Other research, conducted especially by Unilever NV, according to Patent Application EP 0,217,454, has led to the proposal of non-aqueous liquid detergent formulas containing anhydrous perborate and a bleach activator. Anhydrous perborate is made using a relatively lengthy dehydration technique involving very exacting temperature monitoring, and consequently, the whitening agent has a high cost.
Other patents, especially Patent Application FR 2,562,557 by the Colgate Palmolive Company, disclose compounds containing all of the ingredients normally found in powdered detergents, these liquid formulas being non-aqueous, with the powdered products added to the formulas being in an ultra-fine form obtained by thorough grinding. These formulas, which have a high cost, have not yet appeared on the market.